From: Samuella Sigmann <sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**appstate.edu>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Triacetone triperoxide safety reference information
Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2018 09:08:51 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: ad4b16ef-0933-a600-9a0e-8a7bfea93128**At_Symbol_Here**appstate.edu
In-Reply-To <9C162828-7BF5-4E81-B5A4-2DD9EBE56322**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu>


Hey Ralph -

Interesting that you bring this up. I had a research student ask me yesterday what field of Chemistry studied how to learn what happened when you mixed two chemicals. It was such an interesting question. Specifically, he wanted to know how, when people wrote experimental procedures in papers, how did they know what to say - was it just experience. It lead to a very good discussion with the student about many things and made me think how important quality safety information in published procedures will become.

It also reinforced my thinking that embedded safety professionals in departments are important resources for students and faculty alike. Ideally, a student should be asking the research advisor this question, but I was just happy that they asked it!

Anyway, in answer to your question, one thing that I showed him was the CAMEO Chemical suite. If you type in acetone and hydrogen peroxide there, it returns some good references on the nature of the potential hazards.
S-

On 6/1/2018 8:10 AM, Stuart, Ralph wrote:
I am preparing a chem safety presentation for new summer research students here at KSC for next week and would like to include a discussion of the incident described at
http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2017/02/how-a-student-unintentionally-made-an-explosive-at-u-bristol/
The chemical involved in the incident is triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which has a fairly high public profile as a explosive that is easy to make. 

I figured that the first step in discussing the hazards of TATP is to look for a SDS to review from the usual web sources. However, I was surprised to not find an SDS or other GHS information for this chemical at PubChem, Sigma/Aldrich or through a random Google search. ChemIdPlus returned an entry from ToxNet that indicated that TATP is a "Very sensitive explosive" but no other information that would help to put this designation into context.

Does anyone have suggestions about how a chemist developing a risk assessment of a process that involves acetone and hydrogen peroxide would discover the potential hazards associated with TATP in their work?

Thanks for any suggestions on this.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859

ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu

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We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do everything with nothing. Teresa Arnold paraphrased from Konstantin Josef Jire€?ek (1854 ‰?? 1918)

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Samuella B. Sigmann, MS, NRCC-CHO

Senior Lecturer/Safety Committee Chair/Director of Stockroom

A. R. Smith Department of Chemistry

Appalachian State University

525 Rivers Street

Boone, NC 28608

Phone: 828 262 2755

Fax: 828 262 6558

Email: sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**appstate.edu

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